Erase Part 2: A Ben 10 Alien Force Fanfiction (9)
by ShockScythe
Summary: Zeke disappeared for the past week, and coping has suddenly become Ben's new favorite past time. That is, until he receives a message from Azmuth saying that he has Zeke. Desperate to reunite with their lost friend, the trio head to Galvin Prime, yet the person waiting there just...doesn't feel like Zeke. If anything, they feel like a machine; like Zeke was erased..
1. Chapter 1

**Swiggity Swooty guess who's back. Kinda. It's been a while. THE RETUUUUUUUUURN-**

 **I only own my character and the plot of this fanfiction. Everything else belongs to their original owners.**

 **-** ** _ShockScythe_**

* * *

It had been a week since Addex's last and _final_ attempt at...whatever it was he was trying to pull. It had been a week since his ship went up in flames. It had been a week since Zeke disappeared. Normality had come pretty easily, but there had always been this emptiness that followed. The people that knew her asked about her; even Julie, who never really appeared to get along with her for whatever reason, seemed genuinely concerned about her whereabouts. Questionable alien activity continued on and off, and we all drank our smoothies like usual. Perhaps a while ago, it made no difference whether or not it was just the three of us - Kevin, Gwen, and myself - but now there was a strangely void space next to us.

As we sat in the dark, vacant parking lot of Mr. Smoothies, our little trio tried to talk. Well, it was more like Gwen and Kevin were making conversation, occasionally trying to get input out of me that held more than just a yes, no, maybe, or "mhm". I wasn't exactly interested in what they were talking about - either it was something about Gwen's classes or the DNAliens, I really hadn't paid much attention to it. In fact, I was trying to keep from thinking, focusing on a small piece of asphalt that had broken off of the road.

It seemed like such a happy piece of road, too. Just sitting there, completely content with its existence. "Ima name you... Foucault.." I randomly murmured under my breath before stretching my leg out and nudging it with the toe of my shoe. Both Gwen and Kevin's heads swiveled to look at me, concern laced through their features. Surely they were jealous of my new friendship with this little chunk of tar. What else would they be worried about, huh? I saw Gwen's head poke into my sight, brow furrowed tightly enough to knit a sweater.

"Ben?" she asked, putting a gentle hand on my shoulder, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"What is there to talk about?" I quickly countered, lifting my head and arching an eyebrow. "I'm fine, don't worry."

I could feel the looming presence before I physically felt anything, Kevin knocking a hard elbow into the back of my head from the left. My head snapped forward, sudden plain causing my eyes to blur before I whirled around to face him. "What the hell was that for!?" I demanded, covering the growing welt with my hand. Like usual, he wasn't expressing much of anything - except maybe a hint of bitter annoyance.

He clicked his tongue, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the hood of his car. Gwen stepped over to him, and suddenly they seemed to be sharing the same thought process. Which, of course, got me nervous. I did the obvious and took a step _away_ , bringing a hand in front of me. "Um... Is this an intervention?" I asked them bitterly, "Seriously, I don't drink or do drugs. I'm _fine_."  
Depending on one's definition of fine, of course.

Kevin wasn't the greatest at being gentle, so my cousin took the stage, outstretching her arms to emphasize. "Ben," she started to say, "I know it's been tough, we've all been trying to cope, but you have to breathe."

"Coping?" I repeated, gesturing out around us with the raised hand, "I've been coping. I've done everything like I usually do! I've fought the bad aliens, I've gone to school, I've hung out with you guys, I've actually been doing pretty well in physics thanks to Julie.. I've gone on with my life - so what's wrong?"

"Tennyson, you're mopier than a stupid mop," Kevin responded, pointing a finger accusingly at my chest, "We get it. You miss Zeke; we all do, but don't you think she would _stab_ your ass for sulking like this?"

I bit my tongue.

Gwen put a hand on his shoulder, urging him to back off as she took the reigns. Turning to me, I saw so much ache in her green eyes... "What Kevin is saying," she made to translate, "is that this is no way for any of us to be acting. It sucks, but we've come so far without Zeke before. She knew that, too, and I don't think she would want us to _suddenly_ act like children over her being gone. And-" Her attitude suddenly brightened, as if she realized that her super depressing-motivational speech was taking a little too heavy of a turn for me. "-besides, who's to say that she's really gone, right?"

My eyes widened to the size of saucers. While I knew that I couldn't by any means go looking for her - I had nowhere to start - at least I could play with the idea that she was still okay, right? Even Kevin seemed to doubt Gwen's approach to this, giving her this look of disbelief and are-you-kidding-me but keeping his big mouth shut. They were just trying to help, and I understood that... So, I figured I had to swallow it down. It was a waste of energy, wasn't it? God that wasn't what I wanted to call a friend... A _waste_ of energy.

Then, the Omnitrix chirped. A voice followed the high pitched sound, giving a questioning yet equally commanding call. "Benjamin Tennyson, where are you?"

I lifted my arm so fast, turning the alien tech upward so that I could stare, with a very bewildered expression, at the projection of the Great Azmuth. He looked grumpy as ever, but even I could notice the faint twinge of a smile that pulled at the corners of his mouth. Gwen and Kevin both stood much straighter, eyes wide as they gazed upon the glow. "On Earth," I finally responded with a bit of snark, "Where else would I be? What do you want?"

"Watch that tone," the little gray man was sure to warn, raising a scolding finger, "or else I'll have to keep the surprise to myself."

"What kind of surprise?" I questioned, bringing the Omnitrix closer to my face as I squinted, "Are you finally going to tell me some of the secrets to the watch? Maybe give me some kind of medal for all the stuff I've done?"

I heard Gwen mutter something about arrogance, but I ignored her, curiosity swelling in my stomach like a hot fire. Azmuth remained silent, the ghost of a smile now stretching into reality; it even made the corners of his eyes crinkle like an old man's. Kevin had leaned forward, Gwen looked like she was about to come swarm around my arm, and I was about ready to explode into a bunch of tiny Tennyson pieces.

Azmuth pointed to his feet - or, in this case, at the illuminated dial of the Omnitrix below his projection - before asking a singular question. "Does this, perhaps, look familiar to you?"

His image disappeared, a massive galactic map expanding over the watch. Its green glow sent shadows dancing across the parking lot, the collections of constellations and alien planets swirling like a slow-churning whirlpool. As a blip appeared on the surface of one of the planets, growing to the size of one of those MASSIVE beach balls, both Gwen and Kevin's Plumber badges chirped. They pulled them out, looking at the much smaller map that had been transmitted to the devices. All at once, our eyes widened to unholy proportions, the tag on the blip expanding with a very familiar code and name; displayed beneath those was the name of the planet they were attached to.

I just about choked on my own breath.

The map vanished back into the dial, where it was soon replaced with Azmuth's _proud_ form. Our reactions had been exactly what he was hoping for, his hands locked behind his back. He was just waiting with a smug, yet happy expression on his face. "Well, Benjamin?" he asked, "When will you be arriving?"

The planet had been Galvin Prime, home of the Galvin and the sole creator of the Omnitrix.  
The name had been a simple four-letters; Zeke.

Her Plumber badge... We had tried to locate it before, but there had been nothing. _Nothing_. I didn't know why it was just now being broadcasted to us, but what I did know was that I could barely stand. A wave of twisted emotions had me staggering, bringing a hand to my head as I considered the possibility- No, the _fact_ that Zeke was alive. I had so many questions, but Azmuth shook his head before I could ask them.

"It'll have to wait," he told me, "Just get here first, then we'll talk."

Just like that, the projection vanished and we were all left gaping at each other. Kevin was the first to move, yanking the driver's side door of his car open. "Get in," he ordered.

"Why?" Gwen asked him, going over to the passenger's side, "It's not like your car can fly through space."

"But we know someone who has a ship, don't we?" he countered, smirking as he climbed in and started the car.

It took a moment before I could move, practically leaping into the backseat before Gwen could climb in. We were soon ditching Mr. Smoothies and speeding down empty streets, heading towards Julie's house with the goal of taking Ship to Galvin Prime. Again.. She probably wouldn't be too happy about that, huh?

 **~#~**

Kevin's car hadn't even turned off in front of Julie's barely-lit house before I tried climbing over the front seats - and Gwen, who happened to be there too. Of course, this got me a close call with Kevin's fist, the raven barking about how I was gonna scuff the leather with my shoes, and that I was as good as dead if I didn't sit down. Nothing I hadn't heard before. Gwen was quick to get out, letting her seat fold forward so that I could freely escape, stumbling over myself as I ran for the front door. I had made it up the front steps and rang the doorbell twice when I heard a suddenly concerned thought from my cousin;

"Isn't it curfew..?"

Oh god. My face dropped as I was suddenly worried that I would get Julie in trouble, or get in trouble _with_ Mr. Yamamoto. He wasn't super strict if we didn't actually go out after curfew, but since I was already out and about, I'm sure he already had a few choice words up his sleeves. Geez... Mr. Yamamoto _already_ didn't like me all that much, so this was sure to secure that wonderful position in his heart. A lock unbolted before the door swung open, Julie standing in the doorway with a smile. "Hey, Ben," she greeted, leaning to peek around me and wave at the other two who were a little slower in following me up. In the living room, I could hear a commercial for Mr. Smoothie, which only further reminded me of the importance of getting Julie to lend us Ship.

I took a breath, putting on a brief smile before all urgency returned to my veins. "Hey, Julie," I started to say, "Listen, I- We need to borrow Ship."

" _Again_ ," Kevin added sarcastically, as if he _needed_ to remind her of all the other times we've needed to use her alien-pet. He was our only way to get into space, and while it didn't happen all that frequently, it was still a bother.

And a bother it was. Her expression turned a little annoyed, the girl crossing her arms over her chest and jutting her hip out to the side. "What on _Earth_ could be so important this time?" she questioned, looking at me expectantly. If the world was at stake, I knew she wouldn't hesitate to lend us Ship. If a different world was, then there would definitely be a touch or two of convincing that we'd need to do. If someone needed saving, then I'm sure that, with her kind heart, Julie would agree.

Problem was that Earth wasn't in danger, a different planet wasn't in danger, and no one really needed saving. It didn't help that there was no a guarantee that- Wait, scratch that. Azmuth wouldn't go so far as to tell us to come to Galvin Prime and be so "giddy" about it if it wasn't true. So, with that being said, Zeke would be okay even if we didn't go to her right away.  
But I just couldn't wait.

"I'm sorry we keep needing your pet," I apologized, lifting my hands as I spoke, "but we have no other way to travel across the galaxy. If we did, we wouldn't bother you so much about it."

She said nothing, those sharp brown eyes of hers peering straight through me. It was obvious that she wasn't about to agree to anything willy nilly without knowing the details, tapping her fingers against her bicep impatiently. Nodding a bit, I complied to her gaze yet didn't let my own falter. "We found Zeke," I explained, "and we need to go get her."

For a second, Julie's intimidating stare seemed to waver, eyebrows arching in surprise and lips parting with a small gasp. I watched her look past me, at Kevin and Gwen as if for confirmation. Then, she stepped out onto the porch and closed the door behind her, cupping a hand around her mouth before letting out a strong, sharp whistle.  
You could hear the little blob before you saw him, the little sing-song chirps growing louder and louder as he came barreling out from the side fence. He laid his eye on Julie, and without her saying anything, leapt into the air. It was always something else to watch him morph, to watch him extend and grow into something that seemed just as impossible as his own existence. The back door dropped open, a more bass-toned call coming from Ship's depths. " _Shiiiiiiiiiiiip._ "

Kevin was pleased, pointing back at Julie before heading for the idle Ship ship. "Watch my car!" he told her, "I just got it waxed!" I heard him call the giant ship a 'good boy' before he would board, heading up to the front and out of our immediate sight.

Gwen, of course, was a little more considerate. She turned to Julie with an appreciative smile, taking the girl's hands into her own. "Thank you so much," the redhead said, "I suppose we owe you even more now, huh?"

"You betcha," Julie responded with a softened smile, any mild hostility or annoyance she had now fading with each passing moment.

As my cousin went off to join Kevin, I decided it was my turn to thank our generous friend. Though Julie and Zeke never really got along for whatever reason, it made me relieved that that didn't exactly keep the raven haired girl from helping when it involved the blonde. I turned to her, finding that her piercing gaze was already locked on me. Before I could really speak, she raised her hand to stop me.

She took a breath and sighed, letting the raised hand come to rest on the side of her head. "Had she been anywhere else, had she been on the _planet_ , I still might've helped you," the girl admitted. Lifting her gaze, she moved the hand from her head to my forearm, smiling a bit. "Just promise to come save me when I need it too, okay?"

"Always," I promised, covering her more delicate hand with my own, "I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something happened to my friends and I couldn't save them.."

"I know."

As Ship started to take off, Julie remained in her front lawn, arms crossed warmly over her chest.  
I settled into my seat behind the other two, strapping myself in with anticipation. Frankly, I didn't know what I was hoping to find.. Maybe a totally 100% Zeke? Maybe a bunch of answers to questions I didn't even know I had? Maybe I'd find a means to ensure that I didn't lose anyone ever again. I knew Julie and Kevin both for a longer amount of time than I had known Zeke, and Gwen was _family_. I had a hard time trying to move past losing a person that I had fought along side, and I _barely_ made it with Grandpa Max; whatever composure I seemed to have was just a façade, because I was constantly dying inside when he went missing.

We escaped Earth's atmosphere and its gravitational pull, sitting idle in the vast expanse of space as Ship prepared the jump. Up front, both Gwen and Kevin seemed to be anxious as well, tensing in their seats. Or maybe they weren't ready for the jump... I took a breath, clenching my jaw as I stared ahead.

' _We're coming, Zeke.._ '


	2. Chapter 2

There was no time to marvel at Galvan Prime after we broke through the atmosphere. I haven't visited enough times to jokingly call it a summer home, and it was still a _different planet_ , but I was just too preoccupied to be amazed. As we set to land on the wide street way in front of the tower, all three of us were quick to unbuckle, rising and going to the back to wait. Pressurized steam hissed into the air, the door smoothly opened up.. Ship gave a small call as we disembarked, morphing into his cute little blobby self before hopping away to explore.

Azmuth was waiting, arms at his sides and head tilted up to watch us. A piece of me ached like hell when I saw that Zeke wasn't with him but I tried to push it away. There was so much that we didn't know about, well, anything regarding what had happened, so maybe it was best to assume that... That she wasn't totally all right. I stooped down to pick up the little alien, placing him on my shoulder where he held onto the collar of my jacket as I hurriedly walked on. To tell the truth, I just wanted to confirm with my own two eyes that she wasn't dead. Or burned. Or terribly hurt. She could have a broken arm for all I cared, so long as she was still her.

"Ben, take it easy," Azmuth called, prodding my jaw with his elbow just to get my attention. "We have a lot to discuss. Or, at least, I figured you'd want to know just what happened."

I glanced at him, passing through the automatic front doors with Kevin and Gwen at my heels. While I wanted to know, I also didn't want to keep waiting. But as he directed us to the elevator up, it was clear that I didn't exactly have a choice in the matter, soon shooting up the tower's spine to the very top floor. The doors opened and I was greeted by a very...comfortable sight. While everything seemed to retain SOME sort of green hue, it looked much more homely than a lab or observation room.

The elevator opened up to a brilliant view of Galvan Prime, a wide, long window taking up the majority of the rounded wall. There were normal people-sized bits of furniture decorated around the place - as well as some appropriately sized Galvan things - and corridors branching off of this macaroni-shaped part of the top floor. A tube filled with some kind of endlessly flowing, nuclear green substance coursed around the ceiling, branching off into the ceiling and hallways. What amazed me the most was that it moved as freely as water...

"Didn't know you were into interior decorating," Kevin commented with an impressed whistle.

I tore my gaze away from the green sights and tried to see if there was some glimpse of blonde hair. "Where's Zeke?" I demanded, my voice coming out a bit more harsh than I normally would've intended. "Is she okay?"

Azmuth only clicked his tongue, hopping off of my shoulder and onto the floor. Tucking his arms behind his back like he so usually does, the Galvan began to cross the floor. He eventually paused by the window, looking out over his home. "She's _fine_ ," he said then, "In fact, she's been moving around and everything has ultimately checked out."

Relief flooded throughout my entire body, a heavy breath escaping my lungs at long last. On my right, I heard Gwen sigh with relief of her own, putting a hand on her chest as she would quietly mutter a "Thank god" under her breath. Kevin even seemed to be relieved, a bit of the tension in his body seeping away as we could finally relax to some degree.  
Zeke was okay.

The Galvan turned to face us, a small holographic keyboard projecting up from underneath him. His hands flew skillfully, throwing up a few large images in the center of the room for us to look at. "Now, can I explain? One Earth week ago, a powerful energy source left the planet." He enlarged one of the images, particularly one of that massive bird-shaped jet of flame I had seen rush off into the sky. It was seemingly soaring through empty space, maintaining more of a bird form than I had initially thought.

"Its energy signature was practically identical to the one within Zeke's scarf," Azmuth explained, "and while Zeke herself couldn't have ever hoped to reach or achieve that same level, it was still present. Sparing the heavier details of my research, I learned of its origins." The first image shrunk a bit, shifting off to the side as another would come to the center stage. Though the image itself was distorted and hard to make out through static and jumbled coding, it was obvious that the object of focus was a planet; or a large planetary body, at the very least.

Azmuth's own energy seemed to shift to one of more excitement, a rise coming into his voice as he went on: "It came from this planet... A planet that has been lost to space, to knowledge, to _time_ for many eons. I, of course, was aware of a legend that contained such an intriguing world, and therefore it wasn't too hard to identify it once I saw the similarities, but it has no name. Not anymore, at least. This was the best image of it that I could _construct_ using what little data I was able to get."

I looked at the little gray man, amazed to see his eyes so wide and filled with amazement. Being the one to find something that had been lost like that must've been amazing, especially for a genius nut like Azmuth. Sticking my hands in the front pockets of my jeans, I looked onward as a more elaborate and moving image of the firebird, with powerfully burning wings beating a steady pattern, was pulled up next to the planet. Beside the moving image came white text, its words and letters in a language I couldn't understand. So, I waited for the living translator to elaborate.

He cleared his throat first, lifting an arm to gesture like he was some college professor. "This energy happens to be the _raw_ form of an alien species that was thought to be completely extinct," Azmuth told us. However, he paused, resting his hand on his chin. "Now that I think about it..." he mused, "Perhaps Anodites-"

Gwen perked up beside me.

"-are in some way related. Anodites are pure living energy - mana, if you will - and these aliens are of a similar, more free flowing design. I'll have to look into it later..."

Then, my wonderfully bright cousin let her mouth run, ideas having popped into that head of hers. "In a lot of things like cultures and religions," she started to comment, "fire is seen _as_ life. Would that apply here?"

I swear I saw the alien's eyes twinkle, the corners of his mouth twitching upward in a pleased smile. "That's a good guess," he complimented, "As good of a guess as any, but that is, again, for another time."  
Azmuth cleared his throat _again_ , fingers flying over the holographic keyboard before he would pull up a very familiar image. It was of Zeke's scarf, laid flat instead of tied around like it always was. From both the moving image of the alien and the scarf came two, fluctuating scales, measuring in waves and colors. And, to my surprise, they were identical; save for a few differently timed lifts. He looked to us, as if waiting for _us_ to make the observation.

Kevin was the one to speak up first, eyes wide as he ran a hand through his dark hair. "You're tellin me that the scarf was an _alien_?" he questioned, "Considering that it was wrapped around the neck of an underage girl, I'd say that's pretty creepy- OW!"

Gwen socked him in the arm. _Hard_.

"Zeke _did_ say that it felt like the scarf was alive.." I recalled, digging my fingers through my pockets anxiously. "So, if the energy turned into the scarf, it could turn back?"

"Yes," the Galvin confirmed.

"Then when it left Earth, did it have Ze with it?"

"Well, as I was tracing the energy, I found her human energy mingled within it, so yes."

"And she didn't die from being out in the vacuum of space?"

"Clearly not. Though, when she ended up in my care there were complications from being enveloped - or, in this case - controlled by the alien. Nothing I couldn't handle."

Kevin snorted like a loud, fat pig, hooking his thumbs in the loose belt loops at the front of his pants. "Zeke was possessed by a mythical, flaming chicken?" he wondered, clearly spinning this serious topic into something much more light and hard to take seriously, "Poor kid.. Humans claim to experience "encounters of the third kind", but that's like level _seven_."

I smirked to myself, taking a precautionary step or three to the side before saying: "Brilliant, Levin."  
Don't judge me, I thought it was funny. Aaaaand, considering the fact that I achieved a murderous look from the other, I'd say it was a complete and total success.

"That's the interesting part," Azmuth interjected, causing all of our heads to snap to attention. He didn't bring up any new images - in fact, he closed all of the ones he had open, the keyboard receding back into the floor and leaving us to stare anxiously. The Galvan walked forward a bit, hands tucked behind his back yet again. "The energy couldn't have even been accessed by a complete human," he told us, "and a human definitely couldn't have withstood _holding_ that energy. Zeke just so happens to be like Gwen, and those other 'Plumber kids' you made a team out of, Ben."

Guess whose world just got rocked. Just about all of us got excited, questions spewing out of our mouths like Old Faithful.  
"She's part alien?"  
"Does she have an additional form like that alien? Like my Anodite form?"  
"Then she had a parent that was actually that alien..? I thought they all disappeared!"  
"Was she actually the scarf all along?"  
"Kevin don't be ridicul-"

A cold glare from Azmuth shut us up in a heart beat as we bit our tongues and waited like obedient dogs. Once he was satisfied with our level of silence, only then did he proceed. "She does have alien blood," he confirmed, "but, in regards to everything else, it would be a no. The alien in her bloodline has numbed out almost completely, and has been a recessive trait just about everyone in that family; sometimes those that had it present wouldn't even know it. Her great grandmother - the one to give her the scarf - was the last one before her to actually have it as a dominate trait.

"However, after Zeke, I believe that the trait will cease to exist all together. It's so scarce now, that the intermingling of the human species and this ancient one has all but faded away completely." Admittedly, he seemed a little disappointed by this. Probably because it meant he'd lose probably the only remaining connection to these mysterious aliens; from what I could tell, the energy had left and the planet was still too far out of reach. Sucks to be Azmuth, huh? "That Ninja façade, too," he added, "I believe was just a cover up for someone who actually took advantage of their abilities, and that ability must've been one Addex was familiar with..."

I removed my hands from my pockets, disgusted by how clammy they had become as I wiped the palms against my black shirt before looking down at Azmuth. "How did Zeke...get here, anyways?" I asked him, a bit surprised when he shook his head.

"I can only assume that the alien found the connection with my scans," he responded, "Perhaps it figured that I, who had interacted with her once before, could handle the rest... There is too much I don't know, and there is almost nothing that I _do_ know."

We stood in silence, mulling over the information we just learned in our heads. I wouldn't be able to confidently say that everything made sense, but at least there was something there. If it bothered me enough, maybe I would ask Zeke later on. My thoughts clicked together and I remembered the sole reason why we had come in the first place; the answers had been a bonus. Lowering my gaze to the floor - to Azmuth - I rubbed the back of my neck. "So, uh... Can we finally see Zeke?" I asked him, being sure to add a touch of puppy-eyes to my expression to hopefully bypass anything else he may have wanted to throw our way first.

An appropriately Galvan-sized keypad rose up from the floor a foot away, presenting only a few blinking buttons while the others remained dim. Azmuth strolled over to it, pressed the center button, and turned to face the far left corridor behind us. Before I even turned around, I could hear an automatic door hissing open. The three of us whirled around, anxiety spiking through our feet and our thumbs and every part of us that could even hope to feel anything at all. We waited, and waited, and waited... Then, there were footsteps that echoed in the hall.

"Oh my goodness..." Gwen breathed, her eyes flashing pink once before they reverted to a normal, teary green, "It's her energy.."  
And Kevin, being the considerate sack he is, put a gentle hand on her shoulder, smiling small as he looked her over. I had no idea that Gwen had been attached enough to react so emotionally, so _strongly_ to just feeling someone's energy. Then again, I couldn't feel energy at all, so I didn't know what that did to a person.

She came around the corner; first I saw a seemingly titanium-booted foot that ended about halfway up the shin, then the start of a full bodysuit with black and green. Green generally made up the main body, with black poking up from under the boots, wrapping around the waist, coming down the sleeves with a rectangle of green around the elbows. It stretched over the heel of her palms, the black collar cut off at the base of the skull, and up from there was a face I remembered.  
Well... Kind of...

The dirty blonde hair seemed to have grown out a little bit since a week ago - maybe it was just my imagination - now reaching her shoulders instead of a touch shorter, and as she came closer, her eyes weren't as green as they used to be. Before, they had been like a deep emerald or forest green, but now they were more like an earthy moss. If small physical things bothered me that much, then maybe something was wrong with _me_. I figured that it was just because I assumed something had to be wrong.

And something _was_.

No matter how close Zeke continued to get, her expression held close to no emotion. The scariest thing was that there was no sign of recognition in her eyes or her face, no twitches or even minor indications that she realized who we were. Gwen started to move forward, seemingly drawn by the familiar energy she felt, but Kevin pulled her back. He clenched his fist, glared, and held his ground, as if the person approaching was someone suspicious. Even when Zeke stopped five feet away from us, when we should've been recognizable, her face did not change.

She blinked, her mouth started to curl into a slight frown, and her brow furrowed. "Azmuth," the blonde suddenly called, her voice raspy and low, "who are these people?"


	3. Chapter 3

"For the love of god, Azmuth..." I muttered, unable to tear my gaze away from the girl in front of me, "I thought you said everything checked out. That she was _fine_." My heart was flopping around painfully in my chest, anxiety making it dance and dread making it sink. I get that, _technically_ we hadn't known each other for very long, but how could she forget all three of us? _Us_! The people with weird alien-fighting powers. And how would she remember Azmuth, someone she's only heard about and met once? The remnants of a smoothie were threatening to rise in my throat; I was going to be sick... If Gwen had forgotten me, if Kevin had forgotten me... If _anyone_ close to me had forgotten about me, I would probably feel just as sick.

 _How?!_  
How on God's green earth did this happen... Was it because I wasn't quick enough? I wasn't quick enough, and the alien that used her just pushed her too far? Maybe she was unknowingly blocking out the memories of the event, and somehow blocked us out, too?

Frantic, I snapped my attention to the Galvan, eyes wide and expression contorted with almost agonizing confusion. We had come here for her, yet she didn't know us. That emotional rollercoaster that I thought we had stepped off just picked up again, and I was silently begging, _pleading_ for some kind of explanation. And he held his head up, looking at Zeke instead of me.

"I said ultimately," Azmuth responded, hands tucked behind his back, "This was something I could not fix, I'm afraid. I believe it is a sort of mental trauma, her mind's way of protecting itself, or perhaps even healing itself."

"And you couldn't have warned us in advance?" Kevin suddenly asked, not taking his hardened eyes off of Zeke, who held it just as easily. "You couldn't have warned us that the friend we thought we lost didn't remember us at all? That she doesn't remember how to show god damn emotion?!" He was referring, quite clearly, to the lack of life on her face. If she was confused, she gave no indication of so. If she was overwhelmed, it didn't show. All this _person_ was doing was wearing a stoic mask on our friend's face.

The Galvan was quick to turn towards Kevin and the still-shocked Gwen, lips pursed tightly. "Do think that this past week has been easy for a person who isn't as used to this world like you are, Kevin Levin?" he snapped, "Would _you_ like to travel through space without a ship or suit? Would _you_ like to travel to the far reaches that can never be reached by any of us? I know you know what it feels like to have powerful _alien_ energy coursing through you, without any way to control it."

Kevin was fuming; only reason why he wasn't trying to squash Azmuth under his combat shoe was probably because Gwen now had a steadied grip on his arm. However, even the Galvan knew when to stop, clearing his throat and lifting his gaze to Zeke. "Physically," Azmuth said more calmly, "she's okay. I had to do things, things with human anatomy that I wasn't used to if I wanted her to be okay and capable again. But that's as much as I can do. What methods I've learned and techniques of different species for the healing of the spirit and mind that I've picked up over the centuries can only do so much on an unfamiliar world."

He turned his gaze to me this time, a touch of apology lingering in the green of his large eyes. "That's why I told you about her in the first place," the Galvan admitted, "She needs to go back to Earth, where things makes sense and she can heal _mentally_. I don't know how long it will take; depending on the strength of the memories that may come, and her willingness to accept them, it may take a while. Or not long at all."

I wanted to have faith in Azmuth's theory, that taking her back to Earth will really help. In fact... I was _going_ to believe in it. Swallowing the rising sickness back to the depths of my stomach, I turned towards the stoic Zeke, whose own gaze moved to me as well. Her eyebrows raised when we made eye contact, as if she was slightly curious as to what I would say next.  
My plan was to figure out how _this_ Zeke worked, that way I can tell when we were making progress.

"My name is Ben," I introduced as I held a hand out like the first time, glad that my voice was holding up. "Ben Tennyson. This... This is my cousin, Gwen Tennyson-"

"It's nice to meet you. Um... Again."

"-and our friend, Kevin Levin."

"...Hey."

She shook our hands individually, starting with me like the first time around, too. Only this time, there was no real warmth shared, no real sign of that familiar personality. _'Patience_...' I had to remind myself, forcing a smile on my face as Zeke returned to her initial, emotionless stance. Obviously she didn't need to introduce herself; we all knew her already, and I think she was aware of that. Her mossy eyes focused on me, as if she expected me to say something else or assume a more leading role. Which I did.

"We're your friends," I decided to say first, my smile dropping a bit, "and we're going to help you remember that. Are you ready to head _back_ to Earth?'  
All this Zeke-looking person did was nod.

The first time she rode in Ship, the first time she even got to see space without anything blocking her view, she had been ecstatic. But not this time. Zeke strapped herself in the available seat and said nothing to anyone else. Even as Ship _spoke_ , she made no real movement to indicate that she cared. As we all rose in silence, above and out of Galvan Prime's reach, I found that it was much harder to keep my faith than I thought; and we had barely started this "recovery" journey. Naturally, I would keep up the act and try to stay positive, but... Someone forgetting you wasn't that simple.

And it wasn't like she just forgot about us, but she also seemed to have forgotten everything that made her... Well, _her_.

Space rushed past as us Ship made the jump, and in no time at all, the blur of racing stars shot from sight and we were within Earth's blue glow. The peak of the sun was starting to come around the curve of the planet, bringing with it the start of an early dawn. Ship gave a bassy chirp when we passed through the atmosphere and brightening sky, his heavy body descending down through puffy clouds you couldn't ever hope to see back on the ground.  
The clouds split and a slowly stirring Bellwood was in sight.

Up in front, Gwen made a small noise of complaint, resting her chin on the top of her hand as we sailed over the neighborhoods. "I have an Econ test today and I'm not going to get any sleep..." she huffed.

"Boo-hoo," Kevin was sure to mockingly weep, a smirk stretched across his face. "Sucks being a student, donnit?"

She gave him a cross look, one that hinted at the fact that she could very easily flip his ass.

Ship chirped once more, Julie's house now sitting in plain sight. Thankfully, her street was still asleep and wouldn't see us or the Ship ship when we touched down. The back lowered and we all unbuckled, shuffling out of the eager Galvanic Mechamorph (I remembered, so sue me). He collapsed and blobbed up into his smaller, usual shape, wagging his end like a tail before leaping off for the side fence. Without a doubt, he would probably be waiting for Julie to wake up..

We returned to Kevin's car, which hadn't moved nor got touched since we left - Kevin was happy about that - and started to load up, Zeke hesitating a bit as she looked it over. Her expression looked extremely thoughtful considering how little she had shown thus far, brow furrowing over her heavy gaze. Gwen and I looked at each other, both confused about what had suddenly come over her. My guess was that she was remembering something; she had always liked Kevin's car. But neither of us could ask before the car roared to life and a very grumpy car _owner_ leaned over the folded seat. "Let's go already!" he snapped, "I've got work and you guys have school, so can we please stop having a stupid staring contest and get in the car?"

I quickly tumbled into the backseat, followed by a still-hesitant Zeke and then Gwen who took up the front seat. We rolled off, exhaustion now taking up residence in the very atmosphere of the car. Leaning a bit into the middle of the backseat - which had caused me to earn a very cautious look from the blonde up against the opposite window - I checked the clock in Kevin's dashboard, trying to get some idea of how much sleep I would be able to manage before going to school. I could make it to school in like ten minutes when I ride my bike, and school started at 7:30. It was roughly 5:27 now, so I could sleep until 7:15 if I managed to fall asleep quick enough.

We rolled up to my house first, which would leave Gwen's and Zek- Wait.. I turned my attention to the blonde next to me mid-buckle. "Do you remember where you live?" I asked her as Gwen stepped out of the car so the seat could fold. "None of us have ever been to your place, so we don't know where it is."

"I don't," she responded simply, hands clasped neatly in her lap. Zeke added a short "unfortunately" to the end of that, but as I climbed out of the car, I realized that that would be a problem. One, she was still dressed in alien clothing, so already she stuck out like a weird thumb tack. And two, where was she going to stay until she remembered?

As if catching my distress, Gwen put a comforting hand on my shoulder. "I'll lend her some of my clothes," she assured me, "though I probably can't sneak her into my house." We both glanced at Kevin, who was drumming his fingers boredly against the steering wheel. "Maybe Kevin can house her for now," the redhead suggested, "I'm sure Mrs. Levin won't mind too much-"

"I've already passed my curfew," Kevin quickly interjected, "so when I get there, she's bound to be waiting to scold the hell out of me." He paused, eyebrows raising with a new thought as he looked in the rearview mirror at Zeke. "Maybe she'll go easy on me if I bring a friend.."

Gwen rolled her eyes and turned to me, offering a smile. "Get some rest," she said, "It's been a tough night.."  
Nodding, I gave her a quick hug and waved to the car, heading up to my front porch with my house key in hand. The growl of Kevin's car faded off into the distance before I even got inside. I snuck through the house, relieved that my parents hadn't been waiting for me as I wandered all the way into the safety of my bedroom. It was nice and dark within my four walls, the comforter a bit creased from the last time I slept in it. Tossing my jacket onto the body of my desk chair, I allowed myself to collapse face first into the pillow.

Now that everything had reached a more stable point, I could finally feel some _intense_ exhaustion pulling down on every part of my body. Physical strain was one thing, but mental strain was another. I just wanted to sleep, slipping my phone out of my jean pocket just so I could set _some_ sort of alarm; it would suck to be late to school on a day as strenuous as this one already was. Once the alarm was set, I placed the phone face down on my desk and just let the sleep take me away.

 **~#~#~**

By the time I - reluctantly - got up, I was feeling better about the whole Zeke thing. By the time I made it to school mere seconds before the one minute bell, I was feeling _hopeful_. By the time I made it to my last class of the day and plopped down behind Julie, I was more than ready to go on a memory hunt. People remembered things all the time, so as long as Zeke was willing to put in some effort, we'd be fine. Piece of cake.

The teacher up front seemed to be moving a bit slower than usual, telling us to pull out our homework assignment from the night before and go over it again with the people around us. While we did that, she just sat down at her desk and shuffled through papers. Julie turned in her seat to face me, her blue physics notebook opened to the assignment and in her hand. She looked me over once before a smile came to her face. "Someone's a little peppier," she commented, watching me as I pulled my green notebook out of my backpack. "Ship came back, but Zeke's desk in my English class was still empty. Did you get her back?"

I nodded, flipping to the half-assed attempt at the assignment in the middle of the pages. "For the most part," I admitted. As she helped me through my mistakes with slight flicks of her handy dandy correcting pen, I explained the whole situation to her without skipping much of anything; this included the whole Ninja thing, and the fact that Zeke had a touch of alien in her.

Her gaze lifted at one point, the heavy brown of her irises glinting with a amusement. "If she needs memory triggers," Julie said, "I should probably talk to her, too."

"No kidding?" I beamed, glad that the raven wanted to help.

"Sure. We can fight over you again."

"I mean, whatever hel- Wait, what?"

"Nothing. You made a mistake with your equation; forgot to square acceleration."

It obvious that she was pulling my leg. I pouted, dismissing her initial comment before slouching over the desk and looking at the same stupid equation that continued to give me problems. Class continued on like that and I grew more and more anxious as the minute hand of the old clock over the board ticked ever closer to the twelve. The lesson plans were lost on me, my brain juggled all sorts of things to try, and my foot just tapped incessantly against the tiled floor. When the bell finally did ring, I quickly said goodbye to Julie and _bolted_ for the door, nearly trampling a few students in the process.

I got yelled at twice by two different teachers on my way out to the bike racks, bobbing and weaving through the quickly swarming students but I didn't get into any _real_ trouble. Dropping to a knee by my bike, I was quick to undo the red lock from around the front tire, the frame, and the steel ports. My helmet fell along with it, scooped up into my hand before I pulled the bike free. The parking lot was starting to become busy with students that wanted to go home, so I had to at least be careful of that.

Planting the helmet on my head, I pulled the one loose backpack strap over my shoulder and hopped onto the seat, putting my feet to the pedals and pedaling like a super biker. I nearly rolled out in front of some girl who was on her phone, but I lived and just kept going, thinking about what to try first. What better way to commemorate the return of a friend and the start of their memories than with a smoothie, right?


	4. Chapter 4

It was a little bit later in the afternoon when we all met up again. Kevin had picked up Gwen first before he came to get me, and when I loaded up into the backseat as usual I saw that we were short one more. We had started back down the street when I decided to question it, leaning forward against the slight restraint of my seatbelt. "So where's Ze?" I asked, "Because I don't think we can trigger any memories if she's not here to have them triggered."

I saw Kevin's dark irises flicker to the rearview mirror and my reflection in it, a small smirk pulling at his lips. "Believe it or not, she said she'd meet us there," he responded.

All the hope that I felt earlier swelled to an unmeasurable size within my chest. I didn't need to say it - both Gwen and Kevin seemed to have made the same connection. If Zeke said she was going to meet us, then that most likely meant that she remembered _something_. Mr. Smoothie's must've triggered something in her head, something that would drive her to take her own course of action in figuring it out.

We pulled into the slightly crowded parking lot of Mr. Smoothie's, high schoolers hanging about with their friends and slurping away on their drinks while they talked. The three of us climbed out of Kevin's car, lingering around the hood as our six eyes flickered over each individual person there. For a moment, I thought I saw Zeke standing with a group of guys, but this girl in particular was wearing a varsity jacket and getting all friendly with one of them. So it was quite clearly _not_ her.

Gwen crossed her arms over her chest, concern forcing her lips into a mild pout. "Maybe she got lost..." the redhead wondered aloud. "This isn't the only Mr. Smoothie in Bellwood - maybe she went to a different one..?"

"Or maybe she led us on," Kevin suggested with a shrug, "I mean, she probably remembered all the weird, nasty flavors Ben kept getting us and wanted no part of it. Can you blame her?"

Naturally, I was offended. Whatever dread I felt from Gwen's thoughts dissipated at once as I reeled around to face the taller (and stronger) male. "Hey!" I snapped, "My taste in smoothies is impeccable! Besides, today I was gonna get us a much more tame flavor for you guys to try."

"Yeah, Tennyson? And what's that?"

"Wheatgrass and peach."

His face distorted into an expression of disgust and he shivered, clearly put off by the sheer thought of it. Then again, he didn't have the greatest experience with wheatgrass flavors. One time, he got a blade of it stuck in his throat and claimed he was going to die. Which of course didn't happen, but that didn't mean Kevin Levin couldn't act like the drama llama queen he was from time to time.

Gwen turned to me, one arm uncrossing and lifting to gesture. "Shouldn't you get a smoothie flavor that Zeke has had before?" she asked, "Wouldn't that trigger her memory better?"

This made me smile, recalling the occasion as I started to explain. "No, see, she _has_ had it before. One time after we raced - one of the few times that I actually lost-" I snapped Kevin a quick look, just _daring_ him to say something. "-we came here for smoothies and tested that one out. It's actually her favorite. I think... Pretty sure."

I looked around once more, skimming the crowd for some sign of her. It had been a while.. Well, not _too_ long, but when someone who doesn't remember much chooses to wander off on their own, there's always reason for concern. As my gaze turned to the street, I saw her crossing from the sidewalk to the car-filled lot with her hands in the pocket of her jeans. Gwen's choice of clothing to lend her was kind of relaxing, as it didn't _feel_ like something my classy cousin would wear but instead felt like the casual taste of Zeke; it actually stumped her original, more complicated choice of attire with that one sleeve and the blues and whites.  
What she wore was a natural, earthy brown crew collared long-sleeve that appeared to be a little bit large on her, light blue jeans, and, surprisingly, the boots from her time on Galvan Prime.

She came to a stop in front of us, and I noticed something a little concerning around her neck where her scarf used to be. It didn't seem like something _to_ be worried about, I just didn't know what it was. From a distance, I hadn't even noticed it, but now that she was closer, I took notice of the discoloration in her skin. It took the shape of a considerably thin ring around her neck, its dark, heavy bruise-like color fading gradually back into her more consistent skin color.  
I pointed at my own neck as I spoke, raising my eyebrows in question. "Have you had that for long?" I asked her.

"Ever since I woke up," was her response, removing a hand from her pocket to drag her fingers across it. "It was much more prominent before, so it's still healing. Whatever it is.."

' _She's more talkative today_..' I took note, letting a friendly smile stretch across my face. I then dismissed myself from the group, eager to start working on those repressed memories of hers. Rushing over to the window just as the last current customer in line stepped away, I ordered the four smoothies and bounced on my toes. To tell the truth, I was sort of confident in this working out well. It was bound to start something, to get the ball rolling and making this work out for the better. Rushing wasn't good and I knew that, but it was hard to _not_ try to rush.

The usual employee gave me a smile as they handed over the cardboard takeaway tray that was loaded up with the smoothies. I thanked them much more extensively than usual before turning on my heels and practically jogging back to the others. They seemed to be talking, Kevin with a look of suspicion and Gwen with a look of thought. Zeke, of course, with no look at all.

"Wheatgrass and peach smoothies for everyone!" I announced once I was close again. Just those words alone were enough to make a brief spark come to the blonde's eyes. As I passed out the drinks to Gwen and Kevin first, I was sure to keep Zeke in my peripherals, pleased to find that there seemed to be some kind of recognition on her face as she watched. When I turned to her, the emotion _stayed_.

Smiling, I held the smoothie out for her to take. There was some hesitant before she actually reached for it and took it, but it didn't seem like the reluctant kind. If anything, I think it was more of a curiosity thing. From an outside perspective, it was bound to be creepy how I was looking at her so intently, but I was just waiting for a reaction.

 _Slurp._

A moment of hesitation, yet the straw never left her mouth.

 _Sluuuuuuurrppp_.

She had completely forgotten about us.

I was hoping that the smoothie would serve as a foundation for the memories she needed to recover, even if it didn't trigger anything directly. Something direct would great and all, but I couldn't be picky. Zeke was totally absorbed in her wheatgrass and peach smoothie, her moss eyes - which I found that I was quickly growing used to - were wide and alight with a sort of child-like wonder. As if the blended beverage was the greatest thing she had ever experienced.  
A bit cockily, I looked over at Gwen and Kevin, pleased that my choice of smoothie was CLEARLY the correct one. Kevin returned the look with a murderous one, and Gwen rolled her eyes a bit playfully. Despite that, they both seemed a bit relieved that there was _some_ kind of hope.

Zeke lifted her gaze then, noticing our own, intense stares. The light appeared to briefly leave her eyes, yet there was still this highlight to it that suggested that it was still there. This was progressing so much faster and so much smoother than I expected.. "What?" the blonde asked, raising an eyebrow, "What are you all looking at?"

It was better to let stuff like this trigger naturally - other stuff, we had the power to encourage - and Gwen simply shook her head. "Nothing," she responded. "Do you like it?"

"Yes... It's really good, actually."

My cousin smiled, taking a sip of her own smoothie but not having the same, positive reaction. Which, of course, was fine. At least she tried it out; Kevin wasn't even tasting it, leaving it on the hood of his car and out of his reach. Gwen then turned to the other, crossing one arm over her chest and gesturing with the other. "Listen, Zeke," she started, "we are going to help you remember as much as we can, but what do you know right now? What can you remember?"

We all looked at the girl in brown, waiting for her response. After all, it did no good to try to remind her of the stuff she knew, but at the same time... What if she couldn't remember anything about her life before Bellwood? Then what would we do? She cut all ties with her mother - as much as she could, at least - and going back to...wherever she came from would kind of be crossing lines we had no business crossing.  
Then I started to worry about whether or not she would even _tell_ us what she remembered. Didn't she want to remember? Couldn't she trust us? Okay... Maybe not. It would be stupid to trust someone randomly like that, especially when you have no memory of who they are.

Thankfully, however, any previous hostility that she had from the previous night or reserve from before seemed to have dumbed down a bit. Zeke placed her cup on the hood of Kevin's car, her brow furrowed with thought as she attempted to sort through her thoughts. "I know where I come from," she started to say, "It's this mountain town called Pickford. My name is Melody Dawson, I've gone by Zeke Dawson ever since I ran away from a loveless family-"

As heavy as that record was, what was a little peculiar was that Zeke was now claiming to go by her original last name. I may have been wrong, but I could've sworn she went by a different name..."

"-my great grandmother passed away and gave me a scarf which, _apparently,_ was the disguise of an ancient alien species." She shrugged at that, as if she didn't get the point of knowing that. I figured it was something Azmuth had told her. "I'm fifteen-"

"Wait," Kevin suddenly interrupted, "I thought you were fourteen?"

Zeke wore an annoyed expression, crossing her arms over her chest as she practically glared at the older male. "I think I turned fifteen, like, a few days ago," she argued, "I would know when my own birthday is, Kevin."

And boy was that crushing... I felt a little sad knowing that she had turned fifteen during such a horrible time. She probably didn't know or understand how horrible it was - it may not have even been that horrible from her perspective, who knew - but it sucked that any type of normality was interrupted by some kind of stupid alien-involved incident. It always sucks... Hell, it sucks that _Julie's_ normal life was ruined during our first date. I tried to keep my face up, to keep from appearing as heavy as I felt, and was a bit surprised when the conversation switched to what she had been _told_.

"I do remember your guys' names," the blonde admitted, "but only because Azmuth told me about you guys a little while before you came to Galvan Prime. He told me about the Omnitrix, and about the World Pool, and about Plumbers.." She reached into the front pocket of her jeans, pulling out a partially scuffed Plumber's badge. "I had this with me when I first woke up.. It's weirdly familiar, so I'm assuming that it's mine."

That seemed to be it, though I didn't know what the "World Pool" was. Zeke lifted her gaze, looking between the three of us a bit expectantly as if she was expecting us to have some kind of additional input. I looked her over for a brief moment, took note of the increasing amount of emotion in her features compared to even a few moments ago. It was as if she was growing more and more use to the stretches of expression that her face naturally seemed to fall into. Letting out a small breath, I scratched the back of my neck. "So, you don't remember much of Bellwood," I determined. "We can drive you around and get out in the places where we've done stuff."

I looked to Gwen and Kevin for some input, unsure of what I was doing or if it would even work. We could go to the desert where Addex's ship had been burned to ash, or the garage where we'd hang out a lot. The dock couldn't hurt either... There was also the school, and, hey, she's spent a good portion of a Sumo Slammers marathon in my room, so that was definitely something to try.

Gwen nodded, smiling between myself and Zeke. "I think that'll be good," she agreed, this time focusing more attention on the blonde, "There's also meditation techniques you and I can do. Maybe you'll be able to uncover some of it on your own instead of trying to solely find triggers, and if at all possible, I could try to figure out why your memories are so blocked up."

It seemed fool-proof. Zeke voiced her O.K with the idea and we were all set to load up into Kevin's car. I held open the passenger door for her, standing to the side so that she could go first when I looked at her once again. All of the hope that I had placed in these plans working only seemed to fall to the dirt; what emotion she was allowing herself to show made it _clear_ that she just didn't care. I hoped to God that it was just her expression, that her face didn't know what to do with itself, but the proof that her energy wasn't with this was trapped in her dismissive gaze.


	5. Chapter 5

It took too long. _Way_ too long, and we still had very little to show for it. The days passed, some aliens attacked, and we tried everything we could to get her to remember; we even tried to relive some of the more normal things, like the Sumo Slammers marathon to see if it would fit the place in her memory. Her progress with her emotions seemed to grow only to levels of anger, bitterness, and everything else that was negative. I seldomly see her smile, if you can count those thin, wiry stretches across her face as smiles in the first place. Maybe frustrated was the word to call my state of mind, my state of being, but depressed seemed like the better word for it. Yeah. I was _depressed_.

Admittedly, it wasn't like the pain of constantly coming into reach of Grandpa Max and losing him again, but it hurt just as bad. Gwen and Kevin often had to take the reigns during our memory-hunts, and we had all just about run out of ideas. Zeke had come to remember some things, and other things made sense to keep blocked out, but during the meditation sessions, Gwen had said there had been nothing she could find except a personal and _conscious_ block. Which meant that Zeke just wasn't really trying, I guess...

This has even gotten in the way of me fighting aliens; I can barely keep my head up long enough to successfully avoided getting hurt. You'd think that the distraction would do me some good, that it would keep me occupied from feeling so distraught at this lack of progress, but no. It just sucks. We never tell Ze when we go out to fight, either. You could argue that a familiar fight would be just what she needs, but there were too many unknowns. What if a really heavy, really crippling memory triggers? The kind that keeps her from moving? It could jeopardize her life. And since she didn't have the scarf any more, could she even _fight_?

She may have forgotten us and how much we care about her, but that doesn't mean we'll just let her get hurt.

Most nights, I've found that I spend a lot of my time at Julie's, seeking her company and support. This night was no different, as I ditched my bike in her driveway and walked right up to the front door. She opened it before I could even knock, a sorrowful look in her brown eyes. I knew she didn't like seeing me this way; so broken and defeated. With Grandpa Max, I never let it bring me down this much. But that's because he taught me well, and he would be disappointed if I _let_ him weigh me down. With Zeke, it was harder. I couldn't tell whether or not she cared, and while I wanted to believe that she did, all evidence suggested otherwise.

We sat on the couch again, staring at the blank TV in complete silence. This was how each visit started out, with Julie so patiently waiting and me so earnestly trying to denying everything negative I felt. I wanted to believe that Zeke would be back to normal, that I was just being impatient and that she would come around eventually. But it was so undeniably draining... Four days felt like four weeks, and each minute that the idea that nothing would change just made me exhausted in every sense of the word. I couldn't deny the fact that she had started to recognize a few street names, but we had driven along enough for it to just be the chance of her glancing out the window and seeing the same name again and again. Some things were more concrete, like the fact that she remembered a few things about each of us, but that didn't change much.

There was always the possibility that she had a reason for not choosing to remember, but could anything really justify it enough?

I rubbed my face with my hands, an audible groan grumbling out from the depths of my throat. Julie's worried gaze flickered to me and I just dismissed it with a thin smile. She was there to listen to me, as she had done multiple times already with a patient and open ear, but I just wanted to sit in this silence and try to breathe. I stared up at the eggshell white ceiling, following each groove with my eyes to find where they ended and where the next one began.

Back in the garage, Gwen was looking up other memory-triggering methods on her laptop, Kevin was working on his car, and Zeke was in the general vicinity. I think. At that point, I didn't care too much, I just wanted to think about anything else. Even the DNAliens were a better topic! However, I eventually decided to make use of Julie's company, leaning forward with my forearms resting against my knees. "It sucks," I simply said, my voice thick, "Like, what happened to Ze? I get that space travel when you're not control of anything, and don't know what's going on, or _anything_ else, can be traumatic, but this absurd... She isn't a total amnesiac, so why can't she just remember already? And why won't she just actively try!? Is there a reason she won't tell us, or does she just not care? We're doing everything that we can to help her, and she's just sitting there like a damn potato!"

Sounds like frustration, huh?

"You know what?" I asked, finding that I was going down the same script as each time before, "I keep thinking that maybe it would've been better if she hadn't met us at all. Sure, she wasn't totally normal _before_ she met us, but at least she could've stayed as normal as she wanted. The minute she came into contact with us was the minute that things really started to go bad for her... Right?"

I turned my attention to the girl beside me, knowing full well that that wasn't a question she could answer. Julie's brow was furrowed, her lips were pursed tightly, and yet her gaze remained soft. "I'm sorry, Ben.." she said, putting a comforting hand over my own tense grip, "I really am. I wish she could understand how much this means to you - to the others - but at this point in time, she just sounds like she's kind of a sociopath. It's not the easiest thing to try to "fix", even if she wasn't always like that to begin with."

"I know that..."

"Since this wasn't her to begin with," the raven continued, giving my knuckles a squeeze, "I think she'll eventually come around. You could even leave her alone, for both of your sakes', and wait for her that way. This isn't exactly the healthiest thing for a hero to be involved in, right?"

This made me laugh a little, shoulders shaking with the breath. I looked over to her with an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Julie," I told her, "but you know I can't just do that.."  
And she nodded.

We made small talk like this for a while when the doorbell suddenly rang. The two of us perked up, a bit confused by the arrival; I because I was curious, and Julie because she didn't seem to have been expecting company. She dismissed herself, coming around the arm of the couch and heading over to the door to unbolt it. There was a small catch in her breath that even I could hear, causing me to rise from the couch and lift my left arm to the center of my abdomen. Part of me was hoping that it was just a reaction because of the person who stood there, but that didn't mean I couldn't worry about it being a bad thing. I peeked my head around the corner and was surprised to see Zeke in the doorway. And as much as it hurt to realize, I wasn't happy to see her; even if there was a hopeful part of me that thought she came looking for me to tell me something.

Her mossy eyes were currently focused on a partially surprised Julie, the corners of her lips twitching into the small ghost of a smile. "Hi.. Julie..." she greeted a bit robotically. There was that hopeful flutter again, taking flight in the deepest reaches of my chest as she said Julie's name. We had only mentioned the tennis player, never showed pictures of her to the blonde, and yet she identified her by name. Maybe... Maybe I could have hope?

Julie nodded a bit, a rather pleased smile pulling across her face. "Hi, Ze," she returned, "What brings you here?"

That's when the blonde looked to me, nodding once before she gestured over her shoulder. "Kevin dropped me off here," Zeke explained, "They're heading to Mr. Smoothie's and wanted us to catch up to them. Didn't exactly bother to wait for us, either.."

A couple of days ago, I would've been glad to have a chance to get one-on-one and maybe explore deeper on my own. But now, hearing her say "us" only made me feel like a brick of lead, dragging my feet across the floor as I approached her. "Got it.." I responded, squeezing past Julie and through the doorway. I paused on the front steps, turning back to look at the raven and putting on my most convincing smile of the day. "Thanks for tonight," I was sure to say, receiving only a small, unsure nod in return.

I walked past Zeke and went for my bike first, kicking in the kickstand and hanging the helmet on the handlebars. The titanium boots clinked against the concrete of the walkway as the blonde started to move away from the door. While I expected to hear the front door close and bolt shut, it never happened. By the time I decided to lift my gaze, Julie was standing in front of a startled Zeke.

"What kind of friend are you, by the way?" she demanded with a terse tone, "You do understand your situation, right?"

"Julie.." I started to warn, bringing the kickstand back out again. Despite being a few feet away from them, the swelling hostility was not something I could've ignored even if I wanted to. Zeke had yet to say anything as she was still getting over her initial surprise, but the hesitation wouldn't last long.

Julie jabbed her finger into the other's chest sharply, causing her to take a step back. "Just look at you..." she continued, "I haven't seen you since BEFORE you disappeared, and Ben has told me all about the situation. I kept thinking that maybe he was just overreacting, that you actually were returning to normal and he was just too overwhelmed to tell, but looking at you now..." She paused, her expression turning sour and borderline _disgusted_. Brown eyes lifted to match the moss, Julie's fists clenching at her sides.

"Zeke..." the raven said, "Even _I_ know that this isn't you, that you wouldn't just let your friends _visibly struggle_ around you. For some people, they just can't help it, but you can and yet you're still letting it go like nothing. You're just-"

"I'm not completely blind," the blonde interrupted, a dark glint in her eyes, "Why do you even feel the need to tell me?"

 _SMACK_.

The sound was sharp and solid, my jaw dropping down to my bicycle seat as I witnessed, almost in slow motion, the connection. Julie's arm had reeled back so fast, coming back around in the time it took one to blink. Zeke's head snapped to the side, her eyes widened considerably, and for a second, I was worried that a fight would break out. But... All that the blonde did was hold her cheek and stare at Julie in disbelief.

"You're just sad," Julie finished, "You're _pitiful_. If you can see it, then I'm disgusted that you're still not doing anything about it."

And Zeke said nothing.

 **~#~#~#~**

We walked along in silence, meandering through the neighborhood as we made the trek to the usual Mr. Smoothie's. I pulled my bike along with me, unable to formulate a single sentence in my head. After Julie had smacked Zeke right across the face, the blonde had kept quiet, staring ahead as she walked. It would be a while until we got there by foot, and considering how patient Kevin could be sometimes, I considered getting on my bike and having Zeke stand on the back. But when I looked over, I decided against it. I wouldn't say it out loud, but that ruby red handprint that took residence on her left cheek was actually kind of impressive.. It had been a good hit, one that would be sore to the touch for a day or two afterwards.

I dug my nails into the rubber of the handle bar, casting a curious glance in the other's direction. My head had cleared with the resonating smacking sound, so now I wasn't as _mentally_ heavy as I was before; that didn't mean the rest of me was lighter, mind you. It was dark outside, so I didn't really notice the sheen in her eyes until we passed a lamppost. Did it... Did it hurt..?

Clearing my throat, I turned my gaze away. "Don't worry so much, Ze," I told her, "Julie means well. I'm sure she didn't entirely want to hurt you." Even then, I was glad she had done something that seemed to have shocked the blonde, and that she said everything that I think needed to be said.. As horrible as that may sound.

"It doesn't hurt," was her curt response, her eyes remaining anchored ahead.

She didn't have any intention of looking over at me, which was fine.. I couldn't get a good read on her or what she was thinking, but it felt like I needed to ask a few of the questions that had pent up and reached the point of bursting out. They had always been there, yet there never seemed to be a good chance to ask them. That's not to say that now was the best time to ask either, it just felt more possible, you know? I lowered my gaze to the swinging bicycle helmet, sorting words into sentences and sentences into questions. When I lifted my eyes again, I was ready to ask but she seemed to have other plans.

"Listen, Ben.." the blonde started with, catching my attention almost instantly. There was a tone of awkwardness to the way she walked now, and there seemed to be only confusion laced into the parts of her face that I could see. "I think that it's about time that I've said that I'm so-"

My phone cut her off, both of our eyes widening at the sudden interruption. We came to a stop in the middle of the sidewalk as I pulled the phone from my pocket, flipping it open to see Gwen's name on the screen. Now, initially I had assumed that it was Kevin, and because of that I thought that maybe he was getting impatient. Since it was Gwen, that possibility seemed to jump from my mind. I was quick to answer, bringing it up to my ear just in time to ear something _crash_ on the other end. "Gwen!?" I called urgently, my bike falling from my grip and onto the ground. "Gwen, what's going on?!"

"Ben!" she exclaimed in return, "Where are you?! We need you here! A Highbreed just attacked us out of _nowhere_!"

"A Highbreed!? Shit.. I'm on my way!"

I quickly hung up, ditching the device back into my pocket and activating the Omnitrix. The holographic projection of Swampfire popped up over the dial as I started to run backwards into the empty road, twisting through the alien selections I had until it came to rest on the one I wanted. "I'll be right back," I assured the blonde, whose eyes remained wide, "Just hang tight, okay?" She opened her mouth just as I slammed on the dial.


	6. Chapter 6

All of me twisted, bent, and reorganized itself; every part changed, right down to the strands of my DNA. It was always a weird feeling, turning into an alien.. Sometimes painful. With a flash, I emerged in my new form and hovered over the ground with my oh-so-famous exclamation: "Jetray!" I was about to shoot off in the direction of our usual Mr. Smoothie hangout where they were bound to be (since, you know, I didn't actually ask) when something - _someone_ \- snagged onto my tail.

With a yelp, I looked down with widened eyes at Zeke, trying to slip from her grasp or at least remain airborne. "What are you doing?!" I urgently asked, "Let go of me, Zeke!"

"Take me with you!" she barked.

"Are you kidding me?! What if you get hurt!"

"If you don't take me, I'll go on my own!"

Had it been just standard DNAliens, I wouldn't have hesitated so much. But this was a _Highbreed_. Aka tall, powerful, and especially ugly. I wouldn't be able to protect her _and_ keep up with the others at the same time... There was so much that would be at risk, but at the same, if she just ran in on her own I would have even less control. ' _I can't be wasting time here..!_ ' I snapped at myself, bringing down my feet and grabbing onto her shoulders with my bird-like grip. With that, I zoomed out of the neighborhood, racing towards the Mr. Smoothie's that was _clearly_ getting wrecked.

I could feel Zeke stiffen up against the skin of my toes as we came into range of the small battle. Gwen could barely get an attack in, her beams of pink shooting out from behind her shield whenever her strategic gaze saw an opening. Kevin was getting tossed around like a doll, yet he kept trying to get back up again and was frequently re-strengthening the material that coated his body. And, of course, the Highbreed loomed over them all, his red eyes narrowed as he looked over his measly opponents. While my friends were running out of steam, he just kept looming like a darkened tower.

"Did you think all of your pathetic interference would go unpunished?" the alien demanded as he swung his heavy arms into Kevin, throwing the Osmosian into Gwen's shield. My cousin was quick to alter the sturdy properties of her current mana projection to something much more forgiving, cushioning Kevin's collision before easing him to the ground.

He sat up, the asphalt on his chest crumbling away into bits. "Kind of," Kevin responded sarcastically, tightly clenching his jaw as he tried to get to his feet again.

The Highbreed only chuckled in his deep, rumbling voice, shoulders bouncing with the laughter. "You are amusing," he commented, raising his arms over his head, "I'll give you that.."

I couldn't waste anymore time, diving in close to the ground to release Zeke and quickly swoop back up between my two friends to startle the Highbreed. He gave a roar of frustration rather than surprise, digging the prongs of his hands into his own flesh as I fired the bright beams from my eyes. They hit him square in the chest, breaking all the tension in his upper body and causing him to stagger away, smoke stemming off of the place of contact.

From the corner of my eye, I could see Gwen and Kevin regrouping not too far off. I hadn't taken very long to reach them, and I doubt they waited to call me in the first place, so it was a bit startling to see just how weakened they were from such a brief encounter with this Highbreed Commander-guy. We already knew that they were so undeniably strong; a lot of the times, we barely defeated one. Which was kind of disappointing for heroes. Something else I was grateful for was that Zeke was keeping her distance - for now.

Distracted with my assessment of everyone's position, I let the Highbreed's high endurance slip from my mind completely. His fists, tightly clasped together, swung in from the right, timed well enough that my wing-beats didn't even serve to be an obstacle before the full force of it came slamming into my side.

Pain splintered through my ribcage, through Jetray's gills, as I was sent sailing across the parking lot. The collision rattled my brain in my skull, the force of my impact breaking through concrete and asphalt so that it formed a mound by the time I came to a stop. My Omnitrix reverted me back with a display of green, my vision swimming as I let out a pained groan.

It hurt to breathe, each breath causing more and more pain than the last. Despite Jetray's own high endurance, I was almost positive that I had broken a rib. I heard Gwen call out to me through the buzz of my skull, turning my attention to the two as I tried to rise to my feet. The dial of the Omnitrix popped up with my alien of choice already presented to me: Swampfire.

The Highbreeds didn't exactly like the heat.

Before I could transform, I heard Kevin's shout of warning as a tall shadow loomed over me. The Highbreed grabbed me by the throat faster than I could evade, bringing me off my feet and into the air in front of him. "Your intereference only delays us, filthy vermin," he growled, his grip constricting over my windpipe, "You cannot hope to stop our plans."

Beyond his broad shoulders, I could see Kevin trying to get to his knees and Gwen struggling to push her battered and bruised self off of the ground. Despite the increasing dizziness I was beginning to feel, I wasn't too worried; it didn't take a lot to touch down on an already active dial. Just when I lifted my hand, however, the air grew hot and fire shrieked through the darkness, nailing the Highbreed directly against his side. What tongues of hot orange lapped at my legs didn't burn, barely giving off a warmth hotter than a mug of cocoa.

And though it didn't burn for me, it put the Highbreed in a world of hurt. He howled, flinging me back into the hard mound from where he had pulled me before and stumbled to the side, his white skin with the tan flecks shriveling around his body. The stream of fire didn't last for much longer afterwards, dissipating into the dark and leaving the Highbreed as a wheezing, steaming mess.

My widened eyes followed the initial path of the flames, tracing the heated remnants back to an outstretched fist. The wielder's face was considerably calm for a moment, before it inevitably broke out into a grin. "Oh, I'm sorry," she announced with a tone and attitude-to-match that didn't exactly seem like the same girl from a few minutes ago, snapping her arm back close to her side, "Was that a little too hot for you?"  
Yeah, definitely not the same person.  
Moss eyes burned with a very familiar life, but as chance would have it I wouldn't get to know how it had happened until the end of this. It was quite amazing, too, considering any fire-wielding I had seen Zeke use had been with her sword and very rarely did it extend beyond that. Now, she was standing there were a firm stance and posture, having created fire without any outside influence.

I rose to my feet, lifting up my left arm and the awaiting selection, the lead draining from my chest as I would swing my hand back down on top of the dial. There was a flash, my broken rib was mended by the life of this new body, and I could feel the heat that swelled in my chest. "Swampfire!" I shouted, a grin stretching across my face. My attention turned to the recovering Gwen and Kevin, both appearing to feel a lot better than they had before.

Zeke was back, amnesia not included. Seriously, no cold-toned expressionless version of her wpuldgrin like that - _hadn't_ grinned like that - and wouldn't spit out such a witty one-liner. I was actually proud of it, well aware that the habit of having those moments was something I had brought to the table for her to learn from. Okay, maybe I was more relieved than I was proud, my mouth curling up into a smile.

"Let's bring this guy down," I declared.

The Highbreed whirled to face me, hissing threateningly with narrowed eyes. "You can't hope to defeat me," he boomed, "Your numbers are nothing, your _flames_ are nothing!"

"It's still gonna get a little hot," Kevin commented, bringing the Highbreed's attention to him. Not without the intention of doing so, of course, the raven charging the Alien before he could finish his pivot. A massive mallet-shaped hand slammed up into the Highbreed's face, snapping his head back forcefully and causing him to just about fall back.

Kevin wailed on him, making up for all the wasted effort from earlier in the fight while he still had the chance. The opportunity was quick to pass, Gwen and myself stepping in from our respective sides. She threw up a shield in front of a soon disoriented Kevin, just in time to halt the claws of the Highbreed who growled in frustration and repeatedly slammed into the defense. Gwen shoved forward, the mana plate smacking and shattering against his broad chest.

Then I came in from behind, slamming my fist into the small of his back and knocking him forward. He was dazed, he was battered, but that didn't keep him from retaliating just as fast, swinging an arm back and slamming his elbow into the base of my jaw. Due to the sheer force of it and how it had easily caught me off guard, I found myself turning into the attack, staggering in disoriented circles at least a yard away from the Highbreed. My mouth hurt like hell, shaking the numbness from my roots before the Commander started to charge for me.

From beyond him in that brief moment, I watched as the blonde haired girl, who hadn't really intervened much outside of that one blast, took a new stance. It almost reminded me of Gwen's martial arts, but seemed a little more offensive. Zeke lurched forward a few steps, turned her body to the side and braced her arms with her fingers curled into fists; when her leading foot returned to the ground, a quick jet of fire burst up from the side of her shoe before searing into the Highbreed's back. Again, I couldn't help but to be amazed at the new firepower.  
No pun intended.

The Highbreed was looking more crushed by the moment, his skin constricting even more tightly around his body even as he tried to fight _more_. I had to take the opportunity presented in front of me, falling into a barrage of heavy punches that forced the Alien back a foot each time. For the first time, it seemed like we would be able to defeat a frickin _Highbreed Commander_. The instant I thought that, though, the universe gave me a big ol' middle finger before giving the damn Highbreed a new burst of strength.

He caught my left hook before I could hit him, securing a grip onto my arm and swinging me in a wide circle. The other three had intended on helping, but they were all knocked away by a solid swing of my human-baseball-bat-self. The Highbreed released me at that exact moment as well, flinging me straight onto my companions like a bowling ball. My head smacked itself against the asphalt as we all came to a final stop; I could feel the others stuck underneath my larger weight.

There was a _whoosh_ of motion and a final, slight tremor in the earth that hinted at someone's leaping takeoff. When I pushed myself up and looked back, the Highbreed was gone. "Because _that_ was unpredictable," I complained nasally, rising to full height before reverting back to my human form in a flash of green. My ribs hurt like hell, but thanks to Swampfire's own regeneration and endurance, whatever could've been broken wasn't anymore.

Kevin's armor melted away when he stood up, rubbing his back like an old man. "I like how _they're_ the ones who pick the fight," he noted, "and yet usually the ones that run away first."

"We couldn't have gone on forever," was Gwen's response as she gingerly rested her fingers on a tear that reached around the side of her shirt. "Even with Zeke's involvement, we would eventually...run...out..." She stopped. In fact, we all did.

All at once, we whirled around to face a very confused blonde, massive smiles of relief and joy stretching across our faces. "Ze!" Gwen and I practically tackled the girl to the ground, tightly entrapping her in our oh-so-loving embrace. It was only afterwards that I considered the possibility of her not fully being back to normal. However, my sudden concerns didn't last for very long.

"For the love of God!" she complained with a very light tone, arms coming to wrap around us, "Are you trying to crush me?!"

"You don't seem too upset about it," teased Kevin, reaching out to playful pat her head. "Besides, you're overdue for some broken bones."

My cousin and I finally released Zeke, whose eyes were alight with happiness. _This_ was the emotion that had been missing - _this_ was the Zeke that had disappeared. I put my hand on her shoulder, giving it a squeeze. "We missed you.." I found myself saying softly, a small, almost wavering smile coming to my face.

We had gotten lucky. While I could complain all I wanted about it "taking too long" or sulk about like I was the victim, I had no right. There were probably cases like this that littered the Plumber records, but in them, it was probably more common that the person who had forgotten never remembered. Even from the humanly normal side of things, someone remembering probably wasn't that common either. So we were fortunate that Zeke ended up remembering- Or, rather, _returning_.

She looked over at me with an apologetic expression, her lip trembling against her will. "I'm sorry, Ben," she said, "I'm sorry that I-"

"Don't worry about it," I quickly interrupted, "I'm just glad that you're back." _Really_ glad.

Kevin feigned annoyance as he crossed his arms over his chest. "What?" he demanded, " _We're_ not good enough for an apology?" It was obvious that neither he nor Gwen really wanted one to begin with, instead just playing back into the usual habit of teasing each other. And so soon, too.

However, I decided that the conversation needed to make a switch. Turning back towards the blonde, I watched her perk up to attention before speaking again. "Zeke," I started, "you don't have the scarf anymore, so what're you going to do now? Do you remember _what_ you are?"

This smile came to her face then, bringing about a much lighter atmosphere to the conversation. "I'm, like, the tiniest fraction of an alien, right?" Zeke asked, clearly not needing a response, "Guess the 'Ninja' deal is done and over with. Which is good; that schtick was getting old anyways. It's funny, though, that the Ninja technically died with Addex.."

"Now you're a fire-controlling kungfu master," commented Kevin, eyebrow arching as he shook his head. "I swear, you've gone through more identity crises than stupid _Nightwing_."

We all looked at him.

"...I was bored, okay?"

Laughter was quick to break out again. The last couple of weeks seemed more like a distant memory by that point, as if Zeke had never left to begin with; and if she had, it had only been for two days at max. Sure, she seemed to know more about the Omnitrix, aliens, and space in general, but who wouldn't after hanging around Azmuth for an extended amount of time, right?

It was just that... A weird, voided shadow got burned up with Zeke's return. My emptiness was filled to it's usual level - it wouldn't go away unless Grandpa Max came back - and things felt right again. I was one of the lucky heroes, you see, because I had incredible friends that continued to persist. While I would hate to lose someone closer than Zeke, like Kevin or Julie, I had faith in them, that they'd come back too.

We started for Kevin's car, our steps as light as feathers.

* * *

 **Welp. It's about time. Finally, I've made the character I've always wanted. It's a shame she had so many flaws to begin with, and that she NEEDED to be changed, but now I'm proud of her.**

 **Thanks for sticking through, and those of you who've been around since forever, I hope this beats the last one. My writing as improved (at least _I_ think so).**

 **There's more to come!**

 **- _ShockScythe_**


End file.
